Wiggins set to challenge for new world hour record

Sir Bradley Wiggins will have a crack at cycling's most fabled record this summer.

The four-time Olympic champion and 2012 Tour de France winner will look to set a new world hour mark at London's Olympic velodrome on June 7th.

The current mark – 52.491 km – was set by Australian Rohan Dennis in Switzerland earlier this year and British rider Alex Dowsett will also stage an attempt in Manchester next month.

"The hour record is a holy grail for cyclists," said Wiggins, who is attempting to follow in the tracks of fellow British cyclists Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman.

"It’s been fought over tooth and nail by the greatest names in our sport for over a hundred years and it’s time for me to have a crack at it.

“I hope this is a challenge that inspires people: Why not get your bike out of the shed and see how far you can go in an hour?”

Tickets will go on sale for the record attempt this week, with Wiggins hoping for a capacity crowd to roar him on.

“I'm thrilled to see that a rider of such calibre as Bradley Wiggins - an Olympic champion and Tour de France winner - is attracted by the prospect of entering into the legend of the iconic UCI Hour Record," said UCI president Brian Cookson.

"I'm convinced that Bradley will give his very best to set a very high mark for the UCI Hour Record. But such performance is never achieved easily, so I'm excited to see what he can do in what is one of the toughest challenges in our sport.”